Double Secret Easter Egg: My Complicated Feelings about Akron

1. I started running because I live on the (old) Blue Line, and for years I would watch the runners come by as I sipped my coffee and hated myself. I started running so that I could run that exact stretch that went by my house.

This is EXACTLY how I look finally running that Blue Line!

2. The Akron Marathon was my first marathon, and it was a wonderful experience. You never forget your first, and I was lucky that the conditions were the best they could be.

Coming into the chute for my first marathon. Notice Andrew in the blue. He tried to hand me a beer, but I wasn't having it.

3. The first year I ran the Akron Marathon, the RD took away the iconic jackets, and I received a long sleeved tech tee. . . like every half marathoner. Not to be too dramatic, but I was devastated. I talked to a member of the race committee about it and tagged Akron Marathon on social media to discuss this issue. The Marathon ignored my tags, and the committee member told me that runners actually said they would PREFER A SHIRT TO A JACKET. I am calling shenanigans on that one.



4. Each year, the RD tweaks the race, which is to be expected; however, those tweaks tend to make the race less enjoyable for slower runners, like me. In addition, the RD has sent some tone-deaf social media posts that I (and other runners like me) found disheartening and insulting.  I recently listened to a podcast that featured the RD, and through his interview I realized that runners who are not elites or sub-elites are not really on his radar. It's not that he deliberately ignores or looks down on runners like me; we just aren't there in his mind. This is obviously my problem to get over, not his, as he is a successful RD, and I am. . .a successful teacher who runs a lot.



This is EXACTLY how I look as a successful teacher who runs a lot.



5. This year, the course started at Stan Hywet Hall, and it started a half hour later than normal. This meant that the beginning of the course would be in the West Akron neighborhoods (usually at the back end),in the shade with lots of crowd support, and the back part would be in full sun on the boardwalk part of the Towpath in East Akron. Runners were expected to take a shuttle from downtown Akron to Stan Hywet. These recent changes caused me to lose my freaking mind with worry over shuttles and bathrooms. A race that I had loved for years and years was now causing me undue panic and anxiety. I feared that my only alternative would be to drop the race, but that idea was hurtful as I had run the race for so many years. I signed up and tried to be positive about it, but if you know me, you know that my "positive" includes a lot of fretting.


Ok, you've read my background information. Wow! You are persistent!  The obvious thought most of you are having must be this:

Get over yourself. Seriously. If you have this much trouble with the race. . . don't run it. Just shut up and let it go.  Well . . .

I can't. I'm not wired that way.

Although I can name my demons, and I have daily conversations with them while I walk them about on leashes, I can't actually make them disappear.  It's one of my little "quirks" that my friends tolerate. You don't have to tolerate the demons; they are not in your head. I hope you tolerate the quirks.  Also, YOU are the one who opened this Easter egg! Why are you here if you don't enjoy my neuroses??????

This is. . .not exactly how my demons look. My demons are chubbier and far less artistic.

Carry on to the race review, Peeps.